Chapter Volume 5 3
Dark Sky
The weather wasn\'t too friendly when Francis came. I might\'ve taken the better weather for granted thanks to the bright sun and weather. When Francis came, the looming clouds let me know that the weather wouldn\'t always be warm. The long winter in the North had yet to end; it merely entered a quiet period during the warmer days. Today, though, it had escaped its shackles. It was just cloudy, yet the air was particularly cold. I wanted to bring out my winter clothing again, but on second thought, I just draped a relatively thicker cloak on.
Francis entered the house and looked at us, who were ready, and smiled with satisfaction, "Veirya is Veirya, after all. That was a quick preparation. Let\'s get going, then. We also needed to be as fast as possible; therefore, we will to go full speed. We don\'t want to have someone snatch it, after all. Can Leah keep up?"
"I\'m fine." Leah nodded. She then clung to my arm and smiled: "As long as Papa is with Leah, Leah won\'t be too tired. Leah can keep up."
"Francis nodded: "Great."
Anna came up from the side with Leah\'s small cloak. Leah cheerfully ran up to Anna. Veirya looked over to them and went over. Anna froze as she was puzzled as to why Veirya came over. Veirya extended out a hand to her. Anna immediately understood what Veirya was suggesting. She smiled and handed the cloak over to Veirya. Veirya crouched down and draped the cloak on for Leah. There was a tinge of nervousness from Leah. Nevertheless, Veirya sincerely looked at Leah and carefully did up her cloak for her. Once she set the cloak on properly, she patted Leah\'s shoulders and informed, "It. Will be windy."
Leah paused for a moment before shaking out her hood and smiling: "It will be okay, Mama Veirya. I have a hood. When it gets windy, I will wear it on."
"Uhm."
Veirya went to touch Leah\'s head, but she was even more nervous than Leah. Therefore, despite lifting up her hand, she lowered it in the end. Leah didn\'t respond in time. Veirya stood up and went to the door. Francis folded his arms as he looked at Veirya with a smile: "I honestly never imagined I\'d ever see the day Veirya would be so full of motherly love. I\'ve never seen Veirya as a woman. Honestly, Tarak, I\'m dying to know how you conquered Veirya."
I gave the same answer as last time: "Didn\'t I tell you before? Sincerity."
Veirya didn\'t comment. She silently waited at the door to leave. Leah cheerfully ran up to Veirya\'s side. Our luggage had been sent out, so we were ready. Normally, we\'d already be on our way. However, I stood in the house while Francis looked at me feeling confused. Nonetheless, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. The elves weren\'t lazy or something; it was just that the Elven Queen couldn\'t see. I knew the Elven Queen would come to see us off, which was why I chose to wait for her instead of letting her come down to find out we already left.
Ciara helped the Elven Queen down. She looked at us with a hopeless look and smiled: "Sorry for making you wait. It is a bit too hard for the two of us to take care of Her Majesty, Usually, there would be a big group of banshee gifted to her as a dowry when you get married with her, and they would take care of her."
"Do all of you elves like to gift servants as dowry?"
Smiling, Ciara explained an elven practice: "Servants are also an asset. When one\'s daughter is married off, a number of banshees will be handed over to take care of her. If they have a family that are prisoners of war, they will also hand over those prisoners. At the end of the day, they are also assets."
The Elven Queen stood chuckled: "Okay, we will not hold up His Lordship with unnecessary chatter. Your Lordship, I am here to see you off."
"If it is such a daunting task for you, you do not need to see us off every time."
I held my hand up to the Elven Queen. She gently grabbed hold of it and kissed it. Next, she gently clasped my face and smiled: "May the forest be with you. Dear, I will definitely wait for you to come back here, Your Lordship."
"Uhm, I will be back."
I stepped back after nodding. That was the limit. If the Elven Queen tried anything more, Veirya and Leah would be irate. To further add to the complication, if they were unhappy, the journey might be a troublesome one for me. The Elven Queen chuckled and gave me a small bow: "Goodbye, then, Your Lordship."
"Goodbye."
I waved back and then went to the door. The weather outside was freezing. I looked up at the dark clouds overhead and muttered to myself, "It looks as though it\'s going to rain."
Veirya: "If it rains now. Will get sick."
After she made the remark, Veirya pulled up Leah\'s hood and fastened it. Francis clapped his hands and nimbly mounted his horse: "It\'s not the wisest idea to leave in this weather, but we\'re in a bit of a rush. Let us pray that our seniors and the spirits bless us and keep us safe. Let us be on our way now."
I nodded: "All right."
It took a bit of effort for me to mount my house and get my left foot into the stirrup. Leah had Anna\'s help to hug onto Veirya. We then rode off toward our destination on our three horses.
Francis queried, "We are putting all of our hope on you for this deal, Tarak. You won\'t let us down, will you?"
"I can\'t say for sure. I myself don\'t know the people there or if they\'d be willing to obey Veirya\'s command. I can\'t guarantee you things will work out, but we\'ll do our best."
Francis was displeased with my response. He stroked his beard and replied, "You\'re different to Veirya. Veirya can always back up her talk."
"I never thoughtlessly make promises; Veirya can guarantee you success, but I can\'t."
I shook my head. I didn\'t want to accept Francis\' discontentment. You\'re either a liar or a moron if you mindlessly make guarantees when you\'re not certain. I genuinely wasn\'t sure what would happen. Either way, I wanted to wrap up as soon as possible to get back before the war between humanity and elves erupted. Queen Sisi would stop by the town; without me present, who could tell what she\'d do to my family?